VESTAL, N.Y. -- Luckily his mom clued him in before the game, otherwise UMass Lowell junior Jahad Thomas would've had no idea that he was closing in on 1,000 career points at the university.

UML 79, Binghamton 75

He entered Sunday afternoon's contest at Binghamton University 25 points shy of the prestigious milestone. He left the building as the 40th player in program history to accomplish the feat.

The 6-foot-2 Thomas went off for 28 points, 15 rebounds and five assists to lead UMass Lowell to a 79-75 victory over the Bearcats in front of a crowd of 1,689 at the Events Center. Thomas went 12-for-16 from the floor en route to forming a new career-high in points.

He simply did it all, including a loud two-handed slam in traffic that put the River Hawks up 63-50 with 7:41 left and energized his team. It was just the second dunk of Thomas' UML career. But it's never been his way to get caught-up in individual achievements.

"I don't try to focus on those things, I just try to do what's best for the team," said Thomas, who is now averaging 17.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists -- all team-highs.

Thomas was most pleased with the fact that UMass Lowell improved to 7-9 and 2-0 in the America East Conference. The River Hawks have won three straight and five out of their last six.

UMass Lowell led by as many as 15 on Sunday, before Binghamton made a furious run to cut it to 77-75 with 21 seconds remaining after a 3-pointer by Binghamton's Willie Rodriguez (23 points, nine rebounds).

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Thomas had two big buckets inside the final 90 seconds to help UML maintain a cushion.

"I'm really happy with the way Jahad played today and the amount of composure he played with," said UMass Lowell head coach Pat Duquette. "I don't think scoring is the best thing he does and he has 1,000 points, so that gives you an indication of what he does. I'm proud of his accomplishment but that doesn't do justice to defining what he means to our team. I can't say enough about what he did today."

After a back-and-forth first half, the River Hawks took a 34-32 lead into the break. They went on a 21-6 spurt to take a 55-40 lead with 11:04 left. UMass Lowell went just 1-for-15 from 3-point land but benefited from 52 points in the paint and a 49-37 rebounding advantage.

The lead lingered between 10-12 until the final four minutes when Binghamton (9-8, 0-2 AE) methodically shaved down the deficit. Guards Timmy Rose (14 points, 10-for-13 from the line) and Marlon Beck (14 points) were key components in BU's comeback bid.

However, UMass Lowell limited the Bearcats to just 34.3 percent shooting for the game and was able to get timely stops down the stretch.

"We've been playing good basketball, especially on the offensive end. That's why we've won five of our last six," said Duquette. "If we want to be a really good team, like I've been saying, we have to be better defensively. We have to be able to win a basketball game when we don't shoot well, and when you're on the road that's typically how it goes. I thought tonight was a positive step in the right direction."

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